Moran Towing secures LNG fuelling patent
The patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office early last year, and in general terms describes arrangements and methods for transferring boil off gas between a liquefied natural gas (LNG) barge and its tug, while taking into account the relative motion between the two vessels. EBDG says the patent is set to “revolutionise” gas transfer between a tug and a barge.
“This design represents an advance in natural gas fuel transfer technology and demonstrates EBDG’s and Moran’s commitment to the emerging maritime LNG transport industry,” said Curt Leffers, PE, EBDG project manager.
“It also brings to realisation the concept of using natural gas as fuel between a tug and a barge,” he added.
The development of the system was a collaborative effort over one year by teams from both EBDG and Moran. The individual inventors listed on the patent include Sean Perreault, Curtis Leffers, Matthew Roddy, Matthew Wichgers and Jeremy Rice.
Moran is a leading provider of marine towing and transportation services that, while EBDG is an employee-owned company that provides naval architecture, marine engineering and production support services to owners, operators and shipyards across the country.
